Legislators should do what's rightIn these recent days of the legislative session, we've heard a lot about how the representatives and senators who walk those marbled halls at the state Capitol should represent their constituents. Do what the folks back home want. On its face, that argument sounds like a recipe for amicable government. We live in Arkansas. The state's motto is "regnat populus." The people rule. The people's elected leaders should get their marching orders from...

'Embedding' leads to ethics issuesNow that the fighting phase of Gulf War II is just about over and the main threats involve suicide bombers, angry Arabs around the world and every other enemy who existed before this military action, we can inspect facets of the war besides the cruise missile attacks and the targets of opportunity. Embedded reporters. This war was much different than the original Gulf War in that media folks were right there on the front lines. Covering Gulf W...

U.S. troops now serving as policeIn the weeks leading up to Gulf War II, we noted that the hard part might not be winning the military war but preserving the peace afterward. Thus far in this exercise, that prognostication looks to be fairly accurate. U.S. and coalition forces have taken over most of Iraq's largest cities and have sent Saddam Hussein's government packing. The aftermath, though, is a volatile mix of vigilante justice and a society without law. Secretary of Def...

Good week came at just the right timeWe've needed a week like this for a while. U.S. troops marched into Baghdad, virtually ending the war phase of our action to topple Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. The war lasted about three weeks, with coalition forces going just about where they wanted to when they wanted to and suffering many fewer casualties than many had predicted. Economic reports from Washington showed that consumer spending jumped sizably in March, helped in part because ...

Good week came at just the right timeWe've needed a week like this for a while. U.S. troops marched into Baghdad, virtually ending the war phase of our action to topple Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. The war lasted about three weeks, with coalition forces going just about where they wanted to when they wanted to and suffering many fewer casualties than many had predicted. Economic reports from Washington showed that consumer spending jumped sizably in March, helped in part because ...

Troops take Iraqi capitalLiberating the Iraqi capital of Baghdad came much easier to U.S. and coalition forces than seemed possible to those who expected a fierce fight for the city of 5 million. It was possible, if not easy, to imagine that many Iraqis would not view U.S. forces as being liberators but being troops of The Great Satan who came to Baghdad to plunder one locale of the Arab world. After all, it was just a short time ago that folks from that part of the w...

Defining privilege, public dutyRussellville Alderman Paul Gray and Alderwoman Faye Abernathy made their bids for goofiest statement of the year Tuesday. While discussing whether to allow public comments at City Council meetings, Gray contended that the council ought to limit those kinds of communications because it's a privilege to speak to such an esteemed group. A privilege ? We can think of a number of words to describe debating issues with this council, but privilege wo...

Question: Is Saddam dead or alive?Saddam Hussein and two of his sons may be dead. U.S. bombers air delivered four massive payloads at a Baghdad restaurant on Monday. Intelligence reports had pegged the restaurant as a meeting place for the group. So, the Iraqi leader may be a bad memory. But how will we know for sure? The restaurant and nearby buildings are a big pile of rubble now. Forensics experts may or may not be able to ever discern the identities of anyone who was insid...

U.S. troops deserve our supportOne of the many debates revolving around Gulf War II is if a person can oppose the war itself but support the troops fighting it. Is that possible? Certainly. It is entirely reasonable to disagree with the stated purpose of the current military operation in Iraq and to want no harm to come to coalition forces. Those sentiments are the essence of opposing this particular action and supporting the men and women waging it. After all, those troops...

High Court will get shot at schoolsSmall-school officials who can only have their self-interests at heart and can't possibly be thinking about the best interests of the students they serve have banded together to block any state action on public education. To date, they've accomplished their goal of keeping the pitiful status quo in place. Legislators have done virtually nothing to comply with a state Supreme Court ruling to make the state's schools adequate and equitable for a...

State House at it againWashington. Lincoln. FDR. Politicians, all, but also figures who earned respect for their courage, vision and compassion. Finding such a figure in today's state House of Representatives is nigh on impossible. There is no tactful way to put this, so we won't waste too much time searching for one: This bunch of yahoos has cornered the market on shirking responsibility and developing asinine proposals. The latest example came Thursday when the bu...

Reps ducking money issueWashington. Lincoln. FDR. Politicians, all, but also figures who earned respect for their courage, vision and compassion. Finding such a figure in today's state House of Representatives is nigh on impossible. There is no tactful way to put this, so we won't waste too much time searching for one: This bunch of yahoos has cornered the market on shirking responsibility and developing asinine proposals. The latest example came Thursday when the bu...

Finding city money not easyNews flash: Russellville's municipal government needs more money. That's not exactly a news flash. It's more like a news flameout. Just about every governmental entity in the country needs more money. Russellville is no different. To generate ideas on how to address the situation, the city has formed a revenue task force. That outfit met for the first time Tuesday night. Some of the ideas bandied about don't have much of a future. Raising the ...

Lawmakers finally take bold actionIt only took about three months, but at least a few members of our beloved General Assembly have finally taken a stand on something other than protecting inefficient small schools. A state Senate committee endorsed on Monday a plan to add a $1 tax on each pack of cigarettes sold in the state. The money would fund a number of things, including health and medical programs for young and old alike. We'll give those folks credit for at least having...

Good idea for state: HB 4103Finally, our state legislators have come up with a good idea. Many of them have been harping throughout this legislative session that too many of their critics have lost touch with their rural roots. To that end, House Speaker Herschel Cleveland has filed a bill to move the state Capitol to rural Logan County. HB4103 would appropriate funds to loose the Capitol from its moorings and ship it by barge up the Arkansas River to Scranton. There, tr...

Education in newsprintIn today's edition of The Courier, look for a special section highlighting a program we're proud to be a part of. Newspapers in Education. The program puts newspapers in classrooms where teachers can use them in a variety of ways and students can glean information on a variety of subjects. Thoughtful sponsors help us deliver the program, and, like us, officials with those businesses see the value of informing young minds. The section highlight...

Legislators wasting time, effortThere are 135 members of this state's General Assembly in session at the Capitol. They've been there since the first week of January. We've followed their actions and inactions on a daily basis, and we've come to one conclusion. Most of these folks seem to have checked their gumption and common sense at the chamber door. Proof? Where to start? Let's just take Thursday. On that day, the House Education Committee considered new rules for home sc...

Quick end would save American livesFrom Day One, we've not been convinced that President George W. Bush has his military sights set on the right target. But from Day One of Gulf War II, we've maintained that Americans don't have to agree with the administration's reasoning for war to fully support the men and women of the U.S.-led coalition waging war in Iraq. Make no mistake, we - and we trust every American - support every one of those troops who have put themselves in harm's...

Mayor needs a PR personRussellville Mayor Raye Turner's second term in office has been fairly rocky. It began smoothly enough, with a group of City Council members and her pledging to get along and get about the city's business. Since that cold winter day, though, spring has sprung a number of political disasters at City Hall. To an extent, though, the mayor has no one to blame for these brouhahas but herself. Her loyalty to Police Chief Ron Stobaugh has led her to ...

Free advice for the mayorRussellville Mayor Raye Turner's second term in office has been fairly rocky. It began smoothly enough, with a group of City Council members and her pledging to get along and get about the city's business. Since that cold winter day, though, spring has sprung a number of political disasters at City Hall. To an extent, though, the mayor has no one to blame for these brouhahas but herself. Her loyalty to Police Chief Ron Stobaugh has led her to ...